How writing F1 book helped reporter Jennie Gow recover from stroke

In December 2022, Formula 1 reporter Jennie Gow’s life was turned upside down. Out of nowhere, the BBC 5 Live radio journalist suffered a stroke that left her unable to read, write or speak, with fears over whether she would ever be able to live a normal life again, never mind being her energetic and loquacious self on the BBC’s popular radio broadcasts and podcasts.

“It’s quite surreal going through a stroke, It’s not high up on the list of things you think you’re going to have to deal with in your 40s,” Gow told Motorsport.com.

“When you’ve spent most of your life reading, writing, speaking, and taking all of that kind of for granted – because we all do… When you lose that ability to do what I do as a job, to communicate, it’s a very abrupt, sudden change of your life. One minute you’re in control, and the next minute you have no control of anything.

“There were certainly moments when I doubted that I’d ever be able to speak again, or speak again well enough to be a broadcaster, and I was like: ‘What am I going to do?’ There’s nothing that you can really fall back on, because I always jokingly said: ‘Oh well, if I lose my job, that’s fine. I’ll just do something else.’ But what can you do if you can’t communicate? It’s really hard, and it gave me a real appreciation for another side of life.

“That day, I was very fortunate that the right things happened at the right time to enable me the best chance of a good recovery. We’re now 22 months down the line, and whilst I don’t feel 100% I do at least feel better than I did. Life is more normal now.”

Fast-forward 22 months and Gow has made a huge amount of progress during a tough recovery process, and has used her profile in the UK to work with stroke-related charities and raise awareness. In the UK 100,000 people have strokes each year (roughly one in 700). In the United States that figure stands at around 795,000 (approx. one in 400).

But Gow has now also written a book about Formula 1, which seemed inconceivable at the start. Titled How to Read F1, the book is a witty and light-hearted guide of often-used F1 terms, infused with anecdotes from Gow’s broadcasting career. But the title can also be read as a reflection on Gow’s recovery, as she has had to learn how to read again.

“Nine months after my stroke, one of my bosses at the BBC called me and asked how I felt about writing a book, and I said: ‘You do know I had a stroke, right?” 47-year-old Gow said. “I thought…